Karoline Leavitt doubles down in BBC war of words over Hamas

Times

2 days ago

President Trump's press secretary has doubled down in a war of words with the BBC after claiming the broadcaster treated claims by Hamas as 'total truth'.
Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a White House briefing on Tuesday that the broadcaster had been forced to repeatedly correct reports about fatalities at an aid centre in Gaza on Sunday.
She acknowledged that US officials were investigating claims Israeli forces had killed Palestinians queueing for food at the distribution point, but added: 'Unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don't take the word of Hamas as total truth. We like to look into it when they speak, unlike the BBC.'
On Wednesday a report by Ros Atkins, a journalist for BBC Verify, said her claims contained 'misrepresentations and untruths'. The following day Leavitt responded on X, posting: 'Me: The White House doesn't take Hamas's word as total truth like the fake news BBC. Fake News BBC: We didn't do that! We just quoted the Hamas-run health ministry to run with our false claims.'
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Leavitt had shown a printout of BBC digital stories, claiming the corporation had edited the headline from claiming an Israeli tank had killed 26 people to claiming gunfire had killed 31.
She said the BBC had corrected and taken down its story after reviewing video and finding a lack of evidence for its reports, and added: 'So we're going to look into reports before we confirm them from this podium. I suggest that journalists who actually care about truth do the same to reduce the misinformation that's going around the globe.'
The broadcaster responded that it updated its stories throughout Sunday from 'various sources', adding that this was 'totally normal practice' and that all fatality figures were 'clearly attributed'.
In his response on Wednesday Atkins said: 'Updated claims on fatalities were all clearly attributed to a number of sources in Gaza, including the Red Cross, which is an independent organisation.'
He added that including clearly attributed claims from the Hamas-run health ministry was 'a necessary aspect of covering this conflict given Israel doesn't allow international news organisations into Gaza'.
Atkins said the broadcaster did not remove or correct any material after viewing a video, which BBC Verify determined was unrelated to the aid centre incident, and that the articles remained online.